The present invention relates to motor vehicle clutch control mechanisms in general, and more particularly to a hydraulic clutch control apparatus for a vehicle friction clutch having a slave cylinder for operating the clutch release mechanism remotely from a master cylinder. The hydraulic control mechanism is pre-filled with hydraulic fluid and pre-tested prior to shipment to a motor vehicle manufacturer for installation in a motor vehicle.
It is now known to pre-fill with hydraulic fluid a motor vehicle hydraulic clutch control apparatus comprising a master cylinder, a reservoir of fluid and a slave cylinder for operating the throw-out bearing of a mechanical diaphragm spring clutch as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,454,632, 4,407,125, and 4,599,860, all assigned to the same assignee as the present application. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,503,678, 4,506,107, 4,585,106, 4,585,107, 4,585,108, and 4,585,109, all assigned to the same assignee as the present application, also disclose diverse forms of pre-filled hydraulic control mechanisms for motor vehicle clutches. Also, co-pending application Ser. Nos. 537,869 filed Sept. 30, 1983, and 555,667, filed Nov. 28, 1983 all assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, disclose improvements pertaining to the slave cylinder for such hydraulic clutch control apparatus.
Pre-filled and pre-tested hydraulic apparatus for operating motor vehicle mechanical clutches presents many advantages for the motor vehicle manufacturer including receiving a fully assembled mechanism comprising all of the components pre-filled and pre-tested for operability and ready to be installed as one or more subassemblies on a motor vehicle during final assembly thereof.